and it'd be way too ♪ . tonight, on a special edition of nightline. your voice, your vote, a massive blow for president obama, as the republicans take control of the senate on this midterm election day, as the polls are closing, we are live with all the results. plus, how this outcome shapes the oval office for the last two years of president obama's term to the upcoming race to the white house. this special edition of night line, your voice, your vote, will begin in 60 seconds.

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voter anger and taking control of the senate. this is a major blow for president obama who was not on the ballot. exit polls reflecting an electorate that is both unhappy and scared. 71% of voters are very or somewhat concerned about another terror attack. it added up to a very, very bad night for democrats and one that will have a big impact on the 2016 presidential race. you knew this was going to be a tough night for democrats when this scene played out in kentucky. senator mitch mcconnell, declaring victory early in the evening, and by a wide margin over his young, democratic opponent, allison lunn der grin grimes. >> this journey, the fight for you, it was worth it. >> tomorrow, the papers will say i won this race. the truth is, tonight we begin

another one. one that's far more important than mine. and that's the race to turn this country around. [cheers and applause] >> this race embodied the big stakes of this night. republicans have now won all the crucial seats they need to take control of the u.s. senate, making mitch mcconnell the new senate majority leader. some of the big wins include colorado, montana where shelley capito had a big win. >> we are sending a woman to the united states. >> and in arkansas, not even native son bill clinton could stop the republican winning streak. and the son of jeb bush is a new rising star in the political

dynasty. republicans are riding a wave of discontent. voters expressing extreme anger with politics as usual. >> i don't want to be cynical, but, ooh, it's hard to believe that it's going to happen. >> 65% say the country is heading seriously on the wrong track. a pervasive pessimism that caused many democratic candidates to distance themselves from president obama. >> i'm not on the ballot this fall, but make no mistake. these policies are on the ballot. every single one of them. >> that sound bite quickly ended up in republican ads around the country. and it wasn't just senate seats at stake. there were 36 governorships up for grabs and here the democrats have had good news. democrats prevailing in hard fought battles in pennsylvania and new hampshire. but whatever side of the aisle

you're on, victory does not come cheap. these 2014 midterms are the most expensive ever. a whopping $3.6 billion and counting. >> congressman yoder made news by skin eye dipping on the job. >> much of it spent on a barrage of tirefying ads. >> ebola inside the u.s. >> to silly. ♪ let them see that i'm a phony ♪ >> to down right bizarre. >> i grew up castrating hogs on a farm. >> joni ernst rode this phrase all the way to iowa. >> we are going to make them squeal! >> one of many republican victories tonight. so for more on tonight's big

news, let's bring in george >> you've got big majorities in the house. a majority of 54, 55 seats in the senate, potentially, by the time all the votes are counted in all of the close states. so the republicans can pass pretty much whatever they want to pass. of course the president still has the veto pens. but both sides are going to have to make choices. will they also pay heed to the message coming from the electorate that they're sick of a broken washington, sick of the dysfunctional federal government and dysfunctional congress and they want to see both parties get something done. we'll get the first clues from president obama when he holds his press conference in the afternoon, tells people what he thinks of the election results and gives his first indications

of how he's going to work with the congress. >> what is the outlook for the presidential race in 2016? >> this could have been a different electorate from what you saw or what you will see in 2016. traditionally midterm electorates are a little bit older, little bit more republican. some of the minority voters in the past may have stayed home. this time around, it's going to put a challenge for hillary clinton, as you know is kind of unopposed. a huge lead, but she's going to have to figure out what message she takes from this election and how she's going to handle president obama in these final two years. it sets the stage for any number of republican candidates. scott walker, big win in miss -- wisconsin. also chris christie helping so many republican governors stay in office. and you still have people waiting to see what jeb bush

wants to do. ted cruz, wide open republican field right now. and what they're seeing is still an electorate that is angry, an electorate unhappy about the economy. but also an electorate that doesn't think all that much yet of the republican brand. we'll see how they do, what all those candidates do to re-brand the party. >> george, thank you very much. and we'll be right back with more on this breaking news tonight. try the improved formula of boost® original nutritional drink. each delicious serving provides... 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle, and 26 essential vitamins and minerals including calcium and vitamin d to support bone health. plus, boost contains 3 grams of fiber which helps support digestive health. try boost original nutritional drink today. which helps support digestive health. if yand you're talking toevere rheumyour rheumatologiste me,

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republicans taking control of the senate in a midterm election rout. let's bring in our table of experts. let's start with you, matt. how bad a night was this for democrats? >> it was really bad. i think it was, when you take a look at the election results in 2010 and this year, this was a wave, a republican wave that hit, and hit the democrats and the president hard. and every race that was broke at the end, broke in the republicans' favor. and i think this president, when you add up the numbers will have suffered, for a two-term president, the worst midterm losses of any president in the last 50 years. >> nicole, can this president work with this congress and this senate over the next two years? is there any hope of anything getting achieved? >> we'll see. what happens after an election like this is both sides overread what the voters were trying to say. and i think one of the overwhelming messages that democrats and republicans were sending is that they're tired of business as usual. they're tired of the gridlock.

it was a tired anti-senate sentiment and dissatisfaction with washington. we're waiting for results in virginia where ed gillespie is the republican candidate there, and, you know, it's one of the few candidates who had an alternative to obamacare. >> donna brazil, is there any silver lining can you find? >> well, in washington, d.c., it was a tough night for democrats, it was a difficult map. bad gee ography. but we get to fight in two more years. >> is there any republican to emerges as a strong candidate or a stronger candidate in the 2016 race for the white house? >> i think most of the likely

candidates could rationalize this night as they are a good person for the job. john kasich went along with obamacare in many respects. and ted cruz can say, hey, i shut down the government a year ago, wasn't that supposed to hurt republican hopes? that didn't work out so badly. and chris christie did a good job raising money for republican governors. i think you'll see them all in the next couple weeks and months saying that this shows they're the right person for the job in 2016. >> will president obama recalibrate in any way, and should he? >> i think i agree with nicole, i think it was an anti-incumbent but clearly frustration with the democratic party. so i think you have to

acknowledge those results and you're going to have to really reach out here and try and find ways, not for the political purposes here, but you've only got two years left. so you want to keep making progress on the economy, on fiscal issues on immigration. i think it would be good for the president to find some areas of compromise. i think it would be good for the republican party. so, you know, this may be a place where everyone's interests align. i don't want to be too optimistic about it, but i think there's a few months here where there's potential deal space on a few issues. >> compromise, are the odds of that the same as me finding a unicorn in central park? >> the biggest thing that came out of this for me is the same number of democrats and republicans showed up, but wha4 decided this election is independent voters. and where they split is where the republicans won.

i would look at those independent voters and say what can we do together to figure out a way to appeal to them. >> we thank you. so great to have your expertise and analysis on this big night in american politics. and we here at nightline will be back with more of our live coverage of these midterm elections. this special edition of nightline -- your voice, your vote, is brought to you by geico. here i can just...right you know, check my policy here, add a car, ah speak to customer service, check on a claim...you know, all with the ah, tap of my geico app. oh, that's so cool. well, i would disagree with you but, ah, that would make me a liar. no dude, you're on the jumbotron! whoa. ah...yeah, pretty much walked into that one. geico anywhere anytime. just a tap away on the geico app. if you're suffering from constipation or irregularity, powders may take days to work.

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sweeping republican victory, new york's iconic empire state building, all lit up in red. we want to thank you for watching this special edition of nightline tonight. we're going to have much more on the breaking political news throughout the night and a full wrap up with george stephanopoulos and the team in the morning.